Tuesday, December 6, 2011

What is a Skiff of Snow?

When you wake up in the morning and look out at the rooftops...this is a "skiff" of snow.

Just a "skiff" on the chair

.....and in the garden

And finally what every Canadian dreads, is waking up to find a "skiff" on their car!

This is a term that was used widely where I grew up in the Ottawa valley. Someone from Kansas wondered what a skiff was. Helen and I are wondering if this was regional lingo. Have you ever heard of "A Skiff of Snow"?

11 comments:

Nope and where I grew up (in western NY) there was no such thing...it was either not snowing or there was a blizzzzzzard. Your skiff was one early moment in 'it started snowing' but it never stopped long enough to have a name.

Just for the record...Jeff Hutchison on CTV has been known to use the term skiff during his weather report. I have always felt I had some sort of connection with Jeff and now I am wondering, could he possibly be from the valley???

Well, I guess since it's in the dictionary it has nothing to do with the Ottawa Valley. Isn't it interesting the The Professor had to look it up. Guess that's why he's a Professor and Helen and I are the linguists :)

Funny, I was looking up whether or not "a skiff of snow" was an out-west things. We used is all the time growing up in Montana, but New Yorkers don't know what we're talking about. "Oh, you mean a dusting...." :D